Think you have what it takes to join the ranks of professional sound designers? Prove it by competing in our Full Scholarship Challenge!
You’ll be stretched to create a completely original soundscape based on five different categories not often associated with sound:
- The colour red
- The birth of an idea
- An imaginary animal being born
- Falling in love
- A post-apocalyptic landscape
Get inspired and give us your best interpretation for a chance at a full scholarship to Sound Design for Visual Media! The entries will be screened by a panel including representatives from SoundCloud and VFS, but ultimately judged by all registered SoundCloud users. Not on SoundCloud yet? Head over to soundcloud.com and sign up.
You can find all the details at vfs.com/soundcloud, where you can submit your entries and cast your vote. If you have questions, comments, or are looking for a little inspiration or feedback, check out the Official VFS Contest Group on SoundCloud.
We look forward to hearing what you can do!
The eighth year of the contest came to a close last night, with VFS faculty and grads taking the lead with some shocking (and surprisingly funny) horror films. You can currently see all the entered films on the competition website — however, we strongly advise viewer discretion. If you’re not a fan of the horror genre, well, let’s just say you might be spending Halloween hiding out in a safe place with a favourite blanket after watching these. According to VFS Blog sources, we’ve learned that Acting for Film & Television instructor Andrew Moxham picked up the Jury Prize honours for “my guitar gently weeps”, which featured Acting grad Steve Bradley – who also received an award for Best Actor. Makeup Design for Film & Television grads Leah Cuff and Malin Sjostrom-Ewan, meanwhile, won the Best Makeup award for their work in “Full Moon Tonight” and the VFS Acting program-heavy “All Saints Day” won Best Score Congrats, all! Here’s the list of all teams featuring VFS faculty and grads – if you’re not on this list, let us know and we’ll add you! “Just One More” “my guitar gently weeps” “Full Moon Tonight” “All Saints Day” “Cerebral Static” “Satan’s Sideshow” “Nailed”
Saturday, October 29 – Thrill the World As the name suggests, Thrill the World is a worldwide event for charity, built around a shared love for zombies and the dance moves of Michael Jackson. On hand from 4:00 to 6:30PM to give the zombies their fullest attention will be VFS alumni and students Sarah Elizabeth, Cornel Zueger, Kyrra Kosar, Judy Zhu, Max Dowie, Caitlin Groves, Lillian Yang, and Joyce Tu. Check out photos from the 2010 event. Monday, October 31 Breakfast Television (5:30 – 9:00AM) The hosts of Breakfast Television will be getting the celebrity makeover treatment, as our team of students turn them into Michael Jackson, Lady Gaga, Freddie Mercury, and Elton John. Applying their considerable talents will be Hana Amrani, Holly Kahmal, Kristie Robin, Regina Cahill, and Larissa Higo. CTV News at Noon The public were given the vote, and their vote was clear – CTV host Marke Driesschen will become “Markenstein” under the careful skill of alumnus Susan Manning, and current students Kristen Foote and Stephanie Segaric. Urban Rush (5:00PM) Alumnus Louise Lockhart will transform co-host Mike Eckford into a zombie, while 2011 Vancouver IMATS winner Leah Cuff will give Fiona Forbes the Black Swan treatment, helped by current student Caitlin Groves.
Named after senior faculty member Miles Nurse and worth $2,500 towards tuition in the Digital Design program, the annual scholarship recognizes an incoming student who demonstrates a strong interest and passion for interactive design, problem solving, and storytelling. “My dream job would be to lead the creative design of interactive, educational software for children,” Ryan wrote in his application. “I anticipate that this position would involve collaborating with children’s authors, artists, editors, and administrators to produce stimulating media that will enhance children’s learning through the use of mobile platforms such as the iPad.” Congratulations, Ryan. Best of luck pursuing your dream! Check out Oomph for a recent interview with previous scholarship winners Arcelia Ocaña Manjarrez and Jane Haezer Saputra.
Congratulations to the students, grads, and faculty of Entertainment Business Management, Writing for Film & Television, Makeup Design for Film & Television, Digital Design, Film Production, Acting for Film & Television, and everyone else who took part in the creation of The Little Mermaid. Part of Compendium IV: Psycho Princess, this project was honoured as Best Short at the world-renowned Screamfest LA Film Festival this past weekend — something we were anticipating since we announced the screening earlier this month. We’ll have the full scoop very soon, so stay tuned! Itching to see a glimpse of The Little Mermaid while the short makes the festival rounds? Check out the teaser, courtesy of Digital Design grad Kim Oxlund. Update: We’ve created a two-part blog post with tons of behind-the-scenes info about The Little Mermaid. Read Part One, focused on the producers’ point of view, and Part Two, which looks at the makeup and writing.
Earlier this year, Film Production grad Karl Kimmel was featured in a VFS In Focus magazine cover story, wherein he shared some behind-the-scenes experiences from working on his final project, A Noble Cause. The film has just received glowing recognition at this year’s YoungCuts Film Festival in Montreal. On behalf of his stellar team, Karl picked up the MyFilmmaker.com Award for Best Canadian Film, and received nominations for the Tribute Magazine Award for Best Director and the Oasis HD Grand Prix Award for Best Film. Karl shared his reaction to the high acclaim and his pragmatic perspective on how a young filmmaker can put his skills to good use and get a career moving in the right direction. How does it feel to be recognized for your student work? Karl: Getting your film shown to as many people as possible and getting recognition of your work… I’m pretty sure that’s the goal of everyone who makes shorts. Anyone who tells you otherwise is either lying or crazy. We all know they won’t make any money, so it’s all about showing people what you and your crew are capable of. In terms of A Noble Cause, that was always the top priority. I really wanted people to see that the cast, crew and I were capable of making something that felt professional in a student environment. I couldn’t be any happier with the way it turned out, but what I didn’t bank on was just how HARD it is to actually get your movie into festivals – at least ones that are somewhat known and show quality films. After getting that same old cookie cutter rejection email from almost every festival I submitted to, I really started feeling disappointed. So, to all of a sudden get selected into the Young Cuts Film Festival in Montreal, and then on top of that win Best Canadian Film along with being nominated for Best Director and Best Overall Film, was pretty crazy and a big surprise. It was also kind of a relief to have someone finally recognize what an awesome job everyone did on the film. The quality of films being shown at the festival, especially considering that it’s only for filmmakers under 25, was really impressive as well. The competition is definitely stiff out there, and I’m proud that my team and I managed to nab an award in this competition. But at the same time I really hope there’s more to come, because everyone involved really deserves it. What are you working on now? Aside from that I’ve just been working in Vancouver’s indie film industry as either a grip or part of the camera team. I’ve also been involved in event videography as that tends to pay a bit better. For example I worked for an East Indian wedding video company most of the summer which really helped keep me financially afloat. Though now that the high season for weddings is over I’m going to have to start looking for other kinds of work. I’m also currently in the process of writing a new short, which is a pretty big deal for me because I find it very hard to get motivated enough to start writing. The idea has to really stand out for me and be something that I really, really want to do, and at the same time be feasible enough to make it actually happen, or else I just can’t be bothered enough to get it started let alone finished. The big goal for me though will always be making a feature film. That’s where the real credibility comes from. And I don’t know when it’s going to happen, but I’m determined to make it ‘sooner’ rather than ‘later’. Congrats to you and your team, Karl! Watch A Noble Cause on the VFS YouTube Channel.
“VFS prepared me for something I didn’t even know I was going into. It gave me a strong foundation to start my career overseas with no working experience at all, only student projects in my portfolio. It also prepared me for the tenacity, the crazy hours that I would eventually face in the real world. If not for VFS, I would not have been so prepared for what I was about to enter.” He took some time to tell us what he’s been up to and how he got there. Tell us a bit about your decision to come to VFS and what you wanted to learn here. Brian: VFS had the super intensive program that I was looking for. It taught you everything you would need to know to get into not just one industry, but a number of industries. It could have been video production, sound production, animation, design, or 3D modeling. I ended up going into digital advertising. Was it what you expected? What did you learn here that you still apply today? Brian: The intensity was completely unexpected. The pace was not something that was normal in schools in Vancouver. The amount of learning we crammed in was amazing. Of course, it takes two to learn and it took a lot of dedication on the part of students to stay after class, come in on weekends, etc. But it was worth it. To this day, I still eat my lunch in less than 5 minutes. Very handy at times. How has your journey gone since graduation? Was breaking into the industry difficult? Brian: My journey since graduation has followed a pretty typical template. Join an agency as a web designer. Move up the ranks. Join different agencies for different experiences. I’ve worked in Malaysia, Singapore, and now Shanghai. There were awesome business trips in London, Thailand, and Indonesia. My portfolio coming out of VFS was enough to land me interviews, and the work ethic and drive and passion from VFS gave me a leg up. Tell us about what you’re doing now. My job has evolved over the years. Not only with new job titles and scope, but also with the way the industry has evolved. When first starting out it was about how flashy a site you could make, the animations, etc. Over the years, I’ve worked with Coke, MINI, KFC, Unilever, HSBC, Lufthansa, Nike, Toyota, Lexus, and more. The client’s objectives have stayed pretty much the same over the years, but how we get there has changed tremendously. Now with Profero, my creative team’s primary objective is how to engage with the audience. Coming up with platforms, programs, ideas – whatever you want to call it – that people want to be a part of. We work with global and local clients to come up with solutions and that solution might not even exist primarily on a computer screen. It’s the right combination of things (viral, on ground, mobile, social media) that best engages the users. Thanks, Brian!
Produced by Film Production grad Paul McNeill, and co-directed/edited by fellow Film grad Tony Dean Smith, the John Cusack-narrated camper comedy won the Best Film and Best Direction awards, adding more accolades to an amazing film that has often captured our attention. In fact, it was back in 2008 that the film won the Audience Award at the Atlantic Film Festival. The fan buzz has continued to grow since then and, according to the Summerhood Facebook page, US residents can anticipate an official theatrical release in fall 2012! Congrats to Jacob, Paul, and Tony — and also the other VFSers who worked on the film: Film grad Peter Eliuk, Sound Design grad Jeremy Elzinga, and Foundation/Digital Design grad Chris Abbas. Update: We just heard two Sound Design instructors also worked on this film – Rob Hunter was the Re-Recording Mixer and ADR/Walla Mixer, and Maureen Murphy served as Foley Artist. Congrats to you two as well!
Guest post by Alex King It isn’t everyday you get to pick the brain of an Academy Award winner, but a couple of weeks ago our class got to do just that. Leo Baker, animator of the Oscar-winning The Lost Thing, stopped by VFS on his North American trip to show us the film and chat about his research into how the animation industry works outside of his home country, Australia. As Leo talked about his work on the film, one of the stories I found particularly funny was that his friends teased him about working three straight years on a film you can buy for only $2 online. That might sound a little foolish to some, but to someone looking back on that time with an Oscar in hand, I can imagine it’s pretty affirming to know that passion for your craft and lots of hard work can sometimes have far greater payoffs. Leo didn’t know the film was going to be an Oscar winner, but he was smart enough to recognize a lucky break when it came along, and passionate enough to put in the work required to see the project through to its very best. As I’m finishing up my first term at VFS, Leo’s story is just the kind of inspiration I need to tackle the remainder of my year head on. So, chitchat with an Oscar winner and affirmation of your goals – apparently just another Friday afternoon at VFS. Thanks, Alex!
Helping them achieve this vision was a group of 3D Animation & Visual Effects, Classical Animation, Digital Character Animation, and Film Production alumni. Andres Vergara – Visual Effects Compositor Also opening today is the latest comedy from Steve Martin, Jack Black, and Owen Wilson, The Big Year. Helping to bring the laughs were 3D and Digital Design alumni. Jeffrey Burt – Lead Layout Artist
VFS Faculty and Grads Go “Gore” at Bloodshots 2011
You might’ve heard of the annual Bloodshots 48-hour Horror Filmmaking Contest. Films created during this twisted filmmaking frenzy can be scary, gross, horrifying, or just downright wrong. And that’s the point. ‘Tis the season, right?
Team Awesome
Film Production grads Katelynn Mann (Producer), Jan Floor (Art Direction), and Carson Haight (1st AD), along with Makeup Design grad April Beer (Makeup Artist).
The Studes
Acting grads Andrew Moxham (Director/Editor/Story), Steve Bradley (Story), and Andrew Dunbar (“Driver”/Camera Op), along with Makeup Design grad Jennifer Kaminski (Makeup Artist).
Borrowtime
Acting grads Lauren Martin (“Chloe”) and Tom Belding (“Jeremy”), Film Production grads Darren Borrowman (Director), Joshua Mark Guitar (Editor), Darshan Rickhi (Grip), and Sean Avery (Grip), Entertainment Business Management grad Sebastien Dryland (Assoc. Producer), Writing for Film & Television grads Bob Woolsey and Andrew Menzies (Writers), and Keith Opatovsky (Producer), Makeup Design grads Leah Cuff and Malin Sjostrom-Ewan, and Digital Design grad Ian Berg (Motion Design).
After Shock
Acting grads Matt Fentiman (Director/Writer – also a VFS Acting instructor), Scott Alonzo (Writer/Producer), with VFS instructor Suzanne Hepburn and Head of Acting Bill Marchant appearing on screen as well. Digital Design grads Drew Hutchinson (Editor) and Matthew Lawless (DOP), and Makeup Design grad Jennifer Kaminski (Makeup Artist) also contributed.
Team Lost Boys
Sound Design for Visual Media students Luis Orlando Ruiz (Boom Op, Sound Editor/Mixer), Bryce Raffle (Music/Boom Op/Sound Editor), and Juan Carlos Aguirre (Boom Op/Sound Editor).
Hora Morior
Makeup Design grad Shimona Henry (Producer/Makeup).
Bloodclot
Film Production grad Hope LaVelle (Producer/1st AD).A-Haunting We Will Go
Candy, fake blood, and Makeup Design for Film & Television students and alumni – clearly Hallowe’en is just around the corner. While you’re busy putting together a last-minute costume, be sure to check out the following events to see their handiwork. Meet the 2012 Miles Nurse Scholarship Winner
Digital Design will soon be welcoming a promising young designer to the VFS community. We’re proud to announce the winner of the 2012 Miles Nurse Scholarship is Ryan Ali from Cranbrook, BC!Compendium’s “The Little Mermaid” Wins at Screamfest!
A Noble Cause Honoured at YoungCuts
Karl: Right now I’m in the process of getting a production company started up. We’ll be aiming to do all the typical things you would expect of small startup media companies these days: filming weddings, corporate videos, web commercials, music videos, short films, etc… A big focus will be on weddings once we get going because that’s really where all the money is right now. Although I’m already in talks with a real up-and-coming local band to do a music video for them that we can hopefully shop around to MuchMusic, etc…Brian Leong’s Shanghai Hustle
Digital Design (formerly New Media) grad Brian Leong is currently the Creative Director of Profero Shanghai, a UK-based interactive agency focused solely on online marketing. He recently got in touch with VFS as part of his constant search for new talent; working in a fast-paced, international office reminded him of his time here.Summerhood Picks Up Canadian Comedy Awards
Classical Animation grad Jacob Medjuck‘s debut feature film, Summerhood, is back in the news with two big wins at the Canadian Comedy Awards.Guest Post: Leo Baker Visits VFS
If you’ve seen the Academy Award-winning animated short The Lost Thing, based on the book of the same name by Shaun Tan, you’ve experienced the brilliant animation of Leo Baker. Recently Leo stopped by Classical Animation to discuss story, composition, and the trials of financing short animation. Current student Alex King was there, and filed this report. The Thing
Remaking a classic, even a genre one, can be a risky business. When Gus Van Sant produced a shot-for-shot remake of Psycho, the prevailing response was “Why?”. Of course, deviate from the original too much and you end up offending the die-hard fan base that would hopefully make up the core of your audience. It can and has been argued that everything is a remake, anyway, so if you’re going to tackle a much-loved film you might as well add your own flair, which is exactly what the team behind The Thing has done.
Ben Dishart - Senior Surfacing Artist
Ben Steel – Lead Animator
Bernhard Kimbacher – Lead Compositor
Biren Venkatraman – Lighting and Asset TD
Brian Harder – Modeler
Derek Stevenson – Lead Matchmover
Freddy Chavez Olmos – Visual Effects Compositor
Henry (Hung-Chi) Peng – Generalist / Matchmove TD
Jacob Miller – Generalist TD
Jami Gigot – Texture Artist
Jeremy Stewart – Animator
Jessica Wan – Senior BG Prep / Roto Artist
Julianna Kolakis – Creature Texture Artist/Concept Artist
Kevin Mah – Senior FX Artist
Luke Spence Byrd – Matchmover
Robert Bourgeault – Lighting Artist
Ryan Valade – Visual Effects Editor
Steve Johnston – Render Wrangler
Veronica Marino – Compositor
Yuta Shimizu – Lighting Artist
James McPhail – Effects Technical Director
Diego Piccinato – Prep Lead
Bryan Jones – Lead Compositor
Jooyong Lee – Nuke Compositor
Oded Granot – Digital Compositor